Malmberg Jennifer L, Alder Jeremy, Killion Halcyon, Buttke Danielle, Pepin Kim M, Wittemyer George
National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service United States Department of Agriculture Fort Collins Colorado USA.
Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA.
Ecol Evol. 2025 Apr 10;15(4):e71182. doi: 10.1002/ece3.71182. eCollection 2025 Apr.
In the current era of global change, the emergence of infectious diseases at the wildlife-livestock interface poses risks to biodiversity, agricultural economies, and public health. Driven by anthropogenic influence, increased sharing of resources between wildlife and livestock can promote cross-species transmission, the consequences of which are challenging to predict. , an economically important bacterial pathogen in cattle, has recently emerged as a threat to other ungulate species. This study reports on a case of in an intensively monitored free-ranging mule deer ( ) in Colorado, USA, which presented an opportunity to describe the disease in a novel host and infer transmission and infection dynamics from GPS collar data. Following a mortality signal from a GPS-collared adult female mule deer, field investigation revealed predation while postmortem examination further revealed severe, acute, fibrinosuppurative and necrotizing pleuropneumonia. Histopathological analysis, immunohistochemistry, and real-time PCR confirmed as the etiology. GPS collar data demonstrated spatial overlap with dairy cattle in the 50 days prior to death, implicating potential spillover from cattle as the transmission pathway. Reduced movement was identified 19 days prior to death, indicative of sickness behavior due to acute pneumonia. This case underscores the potential for to cause severe disease in wild ungulates and highlights the value of thorough postmortem investigations as a routine component of studies involving wildlife tracking. The retrospective use of GPS collar data provides valuable insights into the movement ecology of wildlife exposed to novel pathogens, aiding in the understanding of cross-species transmission and informing management strategies to reduce the potential for spillover.
在当前全球变化的时代，野生动物与家畜交界处传染病的出现对生物多样性、农业经济和公共卫生构成风险。在人为影响的驱动下，野生动物和家畜之间资源共享的增加会促进跨物种传播，其后果难以预测。牛支原体是牛体内一种具有经济重要性的细菌病原体，最近已成为对其他有蹄类物种的一种威胁。本研究报告了美国科罗拉多州一头受到密集监测的自由放养骡鹿感染牛支原体的病例，这为在新宿主中描述该疾病并从GPS项圈数据推断传播和感染动态提供了机会。在一只佩戴GPS项圈的成年雌性骡鹿发出死亡信号后，现场调查显示是被捕食致死，而尸检进一步揭示了严重的急性纤维素化脓性和坏死性胸膜肺炎。组织病理学分析、免疫组织化学和实时PCR确认牛支原体为病因。GPS项圈数据显示，在死亡前50天内该骡鹿与奶牛在空间上有重叠，这意味着牛的潜在溢出可能是传播途径。在死亡前19天发现其活动减少，这表明是由急性肺炎导致的患病行为。该病例强调了牛支原体在野生有蹄类动物中引发严重疾病的可能性，并突出了彻底尸检作为涉及野生动物追踪研究的常规组成部分的价值。回顾性使用GPS项圈数据为接触新病原体的野生动物的运动生态学提供了有价值的见解，有助于理解跨物种传播并为减少溢出可能性的管理策略提供信息。
